Mature Crumbs
by Sessediz
Summary: A collection of more mature short stories, both AU and sometimes canon, from Sailor Moon. UsaMamo, rated M.


**So I wasn't sure I was going to do Smutember (from a thread on Tumblr, floraone even has Sailor Moon specific ones on her blog!), but then a few ideas came to mind so I'm adding to my collection of _Crumbs_ and _Christmas Crumbs_ to release _Mature Crumbs_** **(might rename it later).**

**This**** one goes under the "Established Relationship" prompt with an addition I've not yet read in sexual literature. I'm sure it's out there somewhere, but I wanted to represent it.**

**Please let me know what you think****! I have a couple more ideas that I might publish under the same thread for this month, but I'll still probably update this collection of crumbs at some point, so be sure to follow it :)**

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**Normal Again**

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Serena yawned as the orange glow of the evening was slowly replaced with the blue glow of the television. A Netflix comedy played on the screen; her husband, who was half an arm's length away from her, chuckled at the program as Serena lifted up her newborn daughter up to her shoulder.

Darien stood up from the couch with his empty glass in hand.

"Hey," she began as she continued to pat Rini's back, "could you get me something since you're getting up?"

"Sure. What would you like?" he asked simply. Although she was sure he didn't mean it, he sounded agravated at her request.

She knew that since the middle of her pregnancy, right around the night she whined for chunky monkey ice cream with spicy chicken tacos from the small shack near the house and a fresh-squeezed lemonade from the local sub shop, that she had been a handful.

She had tried holding off on her cravings, as she didn't want to be a token pregnant woman eating only ice cream and pickles (eww), so they just came in full force and all at once.

But now that she had given birth, she still needed help with caring for her body alongside the demands of their precious, new baby.

"No, that's fine," she replied as Rini belched loudly. Serena giggled as she turned her attention back to the television.

"Com'on, what do you need?" he asked again, tapping his finger on the top edge of his glass. He glared at her through his overgrown bangs and sighed.

Serena had zoned out on the program, and instinctively pressed her nursing pillow against her abdomen in anticipation of a good joke. Her incision was healed enough now to no longer need to, but she continued to do so out of habit. She looked up once he cleared his throat.

"A snack? I could really go for a brownie or something," she smiled sweetly, knowing full well that the only brownies in the kitchen were unmade in a box.

"Don't you think you've had enough sweets today?" When Serena gave him a confused look, he continued, "I get you need to consume a _few_ hundred extra calories a day for breastfeeding, but you're eating a lot more than you think, and those extra calories don't need to all be chocolate, ice cream, and cookies."

"Excuse me?" Serena stood up and adjusted the blanket on her daughter, anger evident on her face. "I carried _your_ child in _my_ body for nearly forty-_two_ weeks, and then underwent major surgery after _thirty-eight_ hours of labor," she recited with perfect practice at this point. "I think I can have a damn brownie if I should like one."

Not caring to be on the losing end of that argument again, he diverted back to her request. "No, Serena. If you really want brownies you can put that baby down and make them yourself."

Put the baby down? That was something she seldom did. Aside from necessities like going to the bathroom or taking a shower, she had only been free of Rini when she allowed someone else to hold her. And it didn't matter if it was her husband or her mother, she always sat right next to them hovering the situation like the Secret Service.

"I can't do that," she said. "You know I can't do that "

"You made us get that baby swing, and it _had_ to be brand new because you wouldn't trust a used one. Serena, you woke me up at five a.m. one day to build the damn thing!"

Serena huffed. "Well, you hadn't built it yet, and I was worried it wouldn't be done before Rini got here."

"It was right when you started your third trimester. I remember because you were excited about whatever fruit, or I-don't-even-know, the baby was the size of that day."

This fight was going nowhere, and if Serena truly wanted those brownies she knew she needed to start acting nice again.

"You're right, sweetie," she conceded. "I could probably get one of those baby wraps or slings so that I can wear Rini on me without having to use my arms. That way I can still do stuff around the house. Maybe even go grocery shopping?"

Darien shook his head as he turned towards the kitchen, but Serena had a feeling that he wasn't going there to make her a snack.

"Wait!" she called out quickly. She looked down to her daughter, then to the unused baby swing in the corner of the room, and then down to the ground. This was no longer about the brownies, and maybe she knew that all along, as she could feel the distance between her and Darien. And it was growing every day.

It was more than just new parent stress, more than having to find a new routine for their growing family.

There was a fear that she had been avoiding since that rom-com she watched in the hospital. Or since her first attempts at walking again after her Cesarean section. A topic she didn't broach with her husband after her six week postpartum appointment he had joined her on.

She saw that look, that smirk in his eyes when the doctor said she could begin to resume activities like exercising or... intercourse.

And she knew she was _crazy_ to think such things, that the odds of it... well, she didn't know any odds, but she figured they were low or non-existent.

"I know that we haven't been, uh, that we haven't been as close since I gave birth... Really since I was seven months pregnant and my hips unbelievably sore..." She avoided eye contact as she rested her baby in the swing for the first time, and carefully fastened the straps. "We could, if you wanted, we could _try_," she began, but then trailed off. It felt like they were dating again, except that there was only awkwardness and no exciting anticipation; not for her, at least.

"Are you trying to offer me sex for brownies?" he crossed his arms, that stern gaze would almost be attractive if it hadn't been directed at her.

"N-no. I'm only trying to be intimate with my husband."

Darien sighed, "Then why now? You haven't shown any interest in me in months. I get that you love our daughter, but you don't show me any affection. Do you still blame me?"

Serena furrowed her brow wondering what she could possibly blame him for, but shook her head. "Com'on, Darien; it can never be just making out anymore! Remember when we were dating and we could make out without it always having to lead to sex? And remember when I could give you a cozy hug without it leading to making out?" she gestured her arms comically to illustrate her point. "It's always all or nothing, so I've opted for nothing."

"And why is that? Are you still mad at me for getting you pregnant, and causing you so much pain in labor?" Confused about his questions, she asked him what he was talking about and he scoffed. "You don't remember all the shit you said to me while in labor?"

After noticing their daughter stirring, she turned on the sound effects on the swing set to block out some of their raised voices. "I didn't mean any of that. I was in a lot of pain, Darien! I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but that was stuff said in the moment."

"Alright," he rubbed the bridge of his nose and set his glass back down on the end table. "Then why is it _nothing_? Why is it that you don't want to be intimate with me?"

Serena trembled. She didn't know how to say it, at least not in a way that he would properly understand; and how could he? He'd never gone through labor, or to have all the nurses in the ward rush into the room trying to flip her body post-epidural to get her precious baby's heart rate going again. Or the beaming lights on her as she attempted, bleary-eyed, to look over the edge of her oxygen mask while they wheeled her to the operating room.

And after it was all said and done, she was an invalid. She had been restricted to her bed for the rest of the day, and when she was instructed to get moving again, she prayed to be back in the bed. The painful and arduous process of standing, and then the horrific journey to the toilet, all so she could try to get her body back to normal; it had scarred her.

She wanted to have sex with her husband again. It was one of the most 'normal' things she could think of doing, but it wasn't the same anymore. But how can she explain it? Would he ever understand?

"I can't," was all she managed to say.

"What do you mean 'can't?' Your doctor cleared you a week ago, I was there."

"Yes, but _I'm_ not ready," she replied.

Darien smirked. "Well, I could get you _ready_," he suggested. After seeing his wife's reaction to his playful banter, something clicked. "You're not... scared, are you? I mean, you did go through a lot," he thought out loud. Darien sat down on the couch, and buried his face in his hands.

"I was terrified that night with everything going on. I didn't know you if you would make it, either of you," he said looking to Rini. "But you're here, alive and healthy, and I want to enjoy that with you."

"But I feel like I'm going to split open!" she finally blurted out. Darien blinked, once, twice, and was about to say something when Serena began again. "I know it's stupid, and irrational, and that the doctor said I could, but I can't fight this idea in my head." She sat down next to him, their knees nearly touching. "I'm sorry."

After a long pause, Darien turned to her. "Why didn't you tell me? We could have discussed this. Do you find me unreasonable?"

"No."

"Then why keep me in the dark? I think I deserve better than that." Serena simply nodded before dropping her head, and Darien pulled her into his embrace. "You know I love you. And we can work through this. I didn't know that you viewed our intimacy as an 'all or nothing' situation, Serena, but we can fix that."

He lifted her chin, "I'm a patient man. We can work back up to it."

He leaned in and kissed his wife, first placing sweet, small kisses on her lips before pulling her closer to him.

Instinctively, Serena looked over at their pink-haired daughter again.

"She'll be okay, and if not, we can stop," Darien whispered as he leaned her back on the couch. He ran his fingers through the roots of her hair which caused Serena to both feel relaxed and excited. "I've missed that sound," he said as he cupped her breasts. "That too," he added as she moaned lowly.

In between their kisses, he explained that he honestly didn't mind the affection she showed their daughter, just that it would be nice for him to get more time with Rini while she was still so little.

"I guess I didn't realize I was effectively hogging her from you," Serena said as slid her hand up his shirt. "I'll try to share more often," she winked.

"Good." Darien squeezed her butt, and Serena's grip on his shoulder tightened. She grazed her other hand down his torso to his zipper with which she began to undo. "What are you doing?"

"Did you not want me to touch you? Wasn't that what all this was about?"

Darien laughed as he adjusted his weight to redo his fly. "Always, but that's not what we need right now. Let's just make out like you suggested."

"We could touch each other while making out, you already have," she reasoned.

He nodded. "True," he moaned as she placed her hand in its original position. "Let's just stay outside of the clothes. Next time we'll see about losing the layers."

\- - - - - - - - -

Later on that night, with Rini fast asleep beside her, Serena inched away to nudge her husband. The edges of his face looked more dramatic with the moonlight.

"Darien. Darien, wake up," she whispered.

With his eyes still closed, he felt around for her form and asked, "Time for a diaper change?" It was his duty at night, a routine for them at this point.

"No, no she's good." She smiled, "Let's still go slow, but... I'd like to try having sex again... right now. You were right, I should have talked with you earlier," she confessed.

Now wide awake, Darien propped himself up on his elbow. Instead of teasing her for admitting to a wrongdoing, something she seldom did, he asked what he already knew the answer to; "You had a smutty dream about us, didn't you?"

"Well...," she blushed.

Things were finally getting back to normal, or at least a new normal.


End file.
